ENG 301 - Writing Children’s Literature

Course unit(s): 1
Prerequisite(s): Any 200-level creative writing course.
In this workshop course, we will focus on writing for children. While we will emphasize fiction, we will also write creative nonfiction, poetry and dramatic pieces. We will pay special attention to issues of character, story structure and language. An equal amount of class time will be spent on student writing and published works. Readings will include recent Newberry and Caldecott Medal Award winners, along with classics by writers such as C.S. Lewis (The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe), E.B. White (Charlotte’s Web), Antione De Saint-Exupery (The Little Prince), Roald Dahl (James and the Giant Peach, Matilda), Maurice Sendak (Where the Wild Things Are), Ezra Jack Keats (The Snowy Day), Katherine Peterson (Bridge to Terabithia), Pam Munoz Ryan (Esperanza Rising), Jacqueline Woodson (Locomotion), John Steptoe (Mufaro’s Beautiful Daughters: An African Tale), Virginia Hamilton (The People Could Fly: American Black Folktales), Mildred D. Taylor (Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry), among others. Satisfies departmental Prose requirement.